Philippines Seek International Help To Evacuate 30,000 Filipinos In Lebanon
Komfie Manalo - All Headline News Foreign Correspondent Manila, Philippines (AHN) - Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has issued an appeal to the international community to help evacuate the more than 30,000 Filipinos still trapped in the war-ravaged Lebanon as he called on the Israeli soldiers and the Hezbollah fighters to avoid harming the Filipinos. Arroyo is facing sharp criticism for her government's seemingly lack of repatriation efforts to evacuate the Filipinos stuck in the warzone and the 25,000 more in Israel. Arroyo said in a statement, "In the name of humanity, I ask the combatants not to harm them. I ask the international community to help us in the evacuation process." The Philippines has appealed to the United States, European countries and Gulf states to accommodate Filipinos wanting to hitch a ride out of the violence in Beirut. But these countries are facing criticism in their own homelands for their evacuation efforts. An estimated 200 Filipinos are holed up in a Roman Catholic Church in the Christian part of Beirut waiting for any assistance from the Philippine Embassy to take them to Syria. Thousands more were told to sit tight and wait for the decision of their employers. Arroyo said Filipino diplomats were trying to "negotiate at the political level and on the ground wherever possible to ensure that our nationals are given safe passage, humanitarian assistance and safe sanctuary."< |
